


One Way to Make Friends

by scarcelyMischievous



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blind Character, Dogs, First Meetings, M/M, Modern AU, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 21:42:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9517337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarcelyMischievous/pseuds/scarcelyMischievous
Summary: Baze ends up being followed by a service(?) dog that just so happens to be owned by the cute blind man across the street.





	

Baze wasn’t typically known for being good with animals. He never paid them any mind, and in return they minded their own business. So he was more than a little surprised when a dog wouldn’t stop following him out of nowhere one day.

 

He knew it couldn’t be a normal stray. It had on an important looking harness on it, so Baze came to the conclusion that it was some sort of service dog. He didn’t do anything about it at first, hoping that it would eventually lose interest and walk off to find its owner again. However, that just wasn’t the case. It followed Baze all the way to the grocery store and even waited for him outside when he came back out.

 

“Tch.” He muttered something in Chinese before setting his grocery bags down and kneeling in front of the dog. It looked at him happily, tongue sticking out and eyes wide. Baze recognized it as a labradoodle, and its light brown fur was very curly. Honestly it looked more like a toy than an actual dog. 

 

“You look like you have an important job. You shouldn’t be wandering around like this,” Baze scolded, knowing very well that it was useless trying to reason with a dog. He noticed the tag on the dog’s collar and examined it closely. Apparently the dog’s name was Iris, and there was a phone number underneath her name.

 

Baze took out his phone and dialed the number, grabbing his groceries and starting to walk as it rang. As expected, the dog, Iris, followed suit.

 

It took a couple of rings before someone finally picked up on the other end. “Hello?”

 

“Hi,” Baze greeted, holding his phone between his ear and shoulder as he transferred some bags to his other hand. “Is this Iris’s owner?”

 

“Ah, you found her!” The man on the other end sounded grateful, and he let out a soft laugh. “I was wondering where she had run off too. She hasn’t been causing you too much trouble, has she?”

 

“Not...really,” Baze said. All she really did was follow him around, so he supposed that wasn’t categorized under ‘trouble’. “Is there a specific location you’d like me to return her to?”

 

“Yes, if you wouldn’t mind,” the man said, before recounting his address. It only took a few moments for Baze to realize that the address was right across from his home. 

 

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Baze said. “I’ll be nearby soon, actually; will you be home?”

 

“Yup. I’ll see you soon then?” the man asked.

 

“Right. See you.”

 

*****

Baze dropped his groceries off at his place first before he made his way over to the owner. Iris seemed excited, circling him happily before running up to the door. She pawed at it, then looked over at Baze, silently begging him to open it. He smiled faintly at that, and then knocked on the door. 

 

Before long, the door finally opened. The person to answer it was a man around Baze’s age, a couple of inches shorter. His eyes were a glazed blue, and he held a walking stick in his hand. Baze suddenly remembered seeing him around the local temple. 

 

Admittedly, Baze had admired the man from afar. He had a kind face, and whenever Baze passed by the temple, he was demonstrating that very kindness, as well as a devotion to his faith. He even caught him doing some martial arts exercises time to time. He truly was something, and Baze would have approached him before if he didn’t always feel like he would be intruding on something.

 

Iris barked and quickly ran up to the man, jumping onto his legs. The man laughed and felt for her head, petting it cheerfully. “Ah, I missed you too Iris,” he said, before turning his attention to Baze’s direction. “Thank you for returning her. I don’t think I got your name?”

 

Baze blinked, coming back to his senses after realizing that he was staring. “Oh, it’s Baze. Baze Malbus. And you’re…?”

 

“Chirrut Imwe, great to meet you,” the man said with a smile, stepping to the side to let Iris in. “Would you like to come in for a bit, Baze?”

 

Should he? It’s not like he had anything better to do. “Sure, if you’ll have me,” he said, stepping inside and sliding his shoes off. The house was very simple inside, with minimal furniture. The lights were off as well; of course, he couldn't think of Chirrut having any use for them on. 

 

As if reading his thoughts, Chirrut said, “Go ahead and turn the lights on. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you.”

 

“It’s no inconvenience,” Baze said, but switched the lights on anyway. Iris went ahead and ran over to the couch, making herself comfortable. Chirrut followed, beckoning Baze to take a seat as well.

 

Baze did so, carefully studying Chirrut. He seemed even nicer up close. “So Iris is a service dog?” he asked, deciding that was a good place to start conversation.

 

This made Chirrut laugh, and Baze wondered if he had said something wrong. But Chirrut seemed humored. “Oh no. She certainly does a good job at being one, but she’s not an ‘official’ one. A friend of mine disguised her as one so I can bring her everywhere. I'm glad it apparently looks authentic.” 

 

Baze couldn't help but chuckle at that. “You two have never been caught?” he asked. 

 

“It's not as if anyone asked. I'm actually blind, after all,” Chirrut said. Baze noticed that he didn't sound at all bitter about it. He was very accepting, it seemed. “We did try to get her to get some actual training, though. She just didn’t like being ordered around by strangers, so she was always coming back home.”

 

“You two are close then?” Baze asked. “If that’s the case, why do you think she got away?”

 

Chirrut looked up musingly. “Sometimes she likes to wander home and bring back new friends. She has a knack for finding nice people.”

 

Baze raised an eyebrow. Somehow he didn’t believe all of that. “So am I supposed to be special then?”

 

“I suppose so,” Chirrut said, and it was almost as if he were trying to hide a knowing grin, only adding to Baze’s suspicions. This didn’t seem like something the dog had been up to.

 

“Okay,” Baze said slowly, leaning forward. “Tell me then: does Iris make friends often?”

 

“Admittedly, no. But when she finds someone she senses she could be get along with, sometimes she doesn’t know how to approach them.” Chirrut shrugged casually. “Maybe she could have found a better method, but she’s not perfect.”

 

“I’m sure,” Baze said, positive they weren’t actually talking about Iris at this point. “Well, honestly, I’m glad Iris brought me here.”

 

Chirrut perked up. “Oh?”

 

Baze nodded, smiling to himself. Normally, he would have found something like this creepy. Then again, he had always found Chirrut intriguing. However weird the approach, at least it happened. “Do you like coffee?”

 

“I hate it,” Chirrut said with a grin. “But I do have a tea set in the kitchen, if you’d like to prepare something.”

 

Baze laughed. “Sounds great, I'll get to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is just me testing the waters for this new ship of mine. Unlike with Kylux, I didn't have a shit ton of roleplaying experience with either of these characters, but aaaa I love them so much. 
> 
> (Also..I have a sneaking suspicion that something about this could be seen as offensive, but I'm not exactly sure as to what it is? So one of you guys think it is, just kindly point it out and don't be mean about it! Thank you!)
> 
> Got a prompt or request? Send it to my tumblr, @damnyoubandvwagon ~


End file.
